WineCommune Site News

Thanks to everyone's generosity, the Tsunami Relief Auctions run in January raised $21,063.77 - money that went straight to relief efforts. Great job!

For those sellers who participated:

• Thank you - this would not have been possible without your participation!
• Credits to offset the fees you incurred have been posted to your account. If you did not get credited or have a problem with your credits, please contact us.
  

We have improved this page. The new format makes it easier to view current and recent updates. Also, for those of you who use a newsfeeder or RSS, use our XML link in the lower right hand corner of this page to have new announcements pushed out to you!

Two big improvements to the image system:

• The image thumbnails (the small versions of images that appear to the left of the item name in listings) have been improved. We got rid of the black bevel edge and improved the quality of the image. This means a larger, better image.
  

• Sellers can now post up to 4 images for each item - 3 more than before. The first image is still free, but each additional image is 25 cents.
  

Items with images get significantly more interest than those without. These two improvements will help sellers sell more wine and help buyers make better decisions about their purchases.

Michael
WineCommune

We have launched a monthly email newsletter aimed at WineCommune sellers. If you are a regular seller on WineCommune, this newsletter is for you! Each monthly email is packed full of useful information about:

• Improving your sales
  
• Making transactions easier
  
• How to maximize item exposure
  
• Insights into buyers
  
• Upcoming events on WineCommune for sellers
  

To join the seller's newsletter, just enter your email below. Your email addresses remains private and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Email Address:

We also continue to offer our regular buyer focused monthly newsletter. To sign up, just enter your email address below:

Email Address:

Don't worry about double sign ups - if you are already subscribed to a list, you won't be subscribed again.

Michael
WineCommune

To date, the Tsunami Disaster Relief fundraising auctions have grossed $14,990 for relief agencies! Thank you to the sellers and buyers who have participated in making this such as success. Another kudos to e-j-w for coming up with the idea in the first place!

Don't stop now - the fundraising auctions are still going strong.

Michael

WineCommune

We upgraded the View Seller's Other Items feature to mimic our current search results listings. Now when you view a seller's other items, you will be able to focus the results by narrowing the category of wines. For example, you can now choose to display only the French wines offered by a seller.

The feature mimics the standard search focusing. You can narrow the results all the way to the varietal level. For example, Italy > Piedmont > Barolo > Monforte > Bussia > Nebbiolo.

Michael

WineCommune

Today we rolled out the Bulk Upload Wizard, which allows you to upload many items for sale at once by using a spreadsheet. This is an advanced feature intended for use by high volume sellers.

The process is pretty straightforward - you create a spreadsheet listing all of the items you have for sale, then you upload that spreadsheet through our Wizard. The spreadsheet is converted into the item posts. All normal fees apply.

To learn about how to prepare a spreadsheet for the Bulk Upload Wizard, please click here.

To access the Bulk Upload Wizard, just click the POST AN ITEM link on the left hand menu of any WineCommune page.

This is part of a new series of tools designed to make selling easier on WineCommune. If you are a high volume seller, you should also consider checking out the Seller Manager which helps manage your auction volume.

Michael
WineCommune

I am proud to announce that today we rolled out one of the most requested improvements - the ability to post feedback for multiple transactions at one time. This will make it easier and less time consuming to give feedback to other users on your transactions.

This feature is in the same place where you always go to post feedback. To access this new feature:

Login to the FEEDBACK section of myWC and select the link that says: Click here to post feedback for any of your transactions. You will see a list of the transactions you need to leave feedback for. Check the box to the right of each transaction that you want to leave feedback for, then scroll to the bottom of the page.

At the bottom of the page is the standard feedback form - you must select a feedback rating (positive, negative or neutral) as well as enter a comment. Then click the Post Feedback button. Your feedback will be posted for each transaction you selected. You will be given a summary report indicating the status for each transaction.

Enjoy!

Michael

WineCommune

Today we rolled out an improved member feedback page. This is the page that allows you to review all of the feedback a user has received in the past. Some of the improvements include:

• Shows the pecentage of positive feedback received


• Breakdown of feedback received by month, last 6 months and last year


• Easier to view a user's feedback history at a glance


• Sort a user's feedback to see only those feedbacks posted by sellers or buyers


• View the feedback a user left for other users

Look for further improvements to the feedback function in the near future, including an easier way to post feedback on your transactions.

Thank you!

Michael
WineCommune

We have just completed an overhaul of the WineCommune item status emails. These are the emails that you receive as a bidder or seller regarding your item activity. For example, if you bid on an item, you may receive an email indicating you have been outbid or ultimately won an item. As a seller, you receive an end of item email telling you if your item sold or not.

Until now, these emails have been in plain text format and often lacked important information. We have changed each of these emails to a multipart format - both html and text. If your email reader can only view text messages, you will receive a text message. If you have a mime compliant html email reader (most people do) you will see much more attractive emails.

Beyond just format, the new emails also carry more information about what to do at each step in the item process. Further, they now carry more information about each item and are easier to read. They are a big improvement over the old emails.

As spam filters become more prevelant, you should make sure you are receiving each of your status emails from WineCommune. To ensure none of our emails get caught by your spam filter, add the email address "auctions@winecommune.com" (without the quote marks) to your whitelist. That will ensure delivery of our messages in the future.

Thank you!

This week, we launched a new service called wineBOSS - an online celllar management program that you can use to organize and value your wine cellar.

wineBOSS goes well beyond other wine cellar management programs available. In addition to the ability to inventory and manage your collection, wineBOSS provides you with current and historical prices for your wines. You can break down your cellar contents by varietal, maturity, cost, country, or type of wine. In addition, you can easily record, share, search, and print tasting notes for thousands of wines.

If you want to see a quick 2 minute tour of wineBOSS's functions, click here. There is a 30 day free trial and then it is only $39.95 a year.

Michael
WineCommune

Based on some good suggestions from the WineCommune community (thanks e-j-w, and others), we have created a Tsunami Relief Auctions section featuring auctions where the proceeds will be donated to tsunami victim relief.

If you wish to post wines for sale where all of the proceeds from the sale will go to a tsunami relief organization, please use the word "tsunami" in your auction title. Your items will automatically be posted in our special section. In addition, we will remove all fees from the lots - listing, feature, and commissions.

Please note: we are relying on the honor system to ensure that funds collected from the auction will be donated to an appropriate organization, but WineCommune reserves the right to ask for proof from the seller that the donation was made.

Do you want to run a special auction or contribute directly to a relief organization? Check out Google's special page listing Tsunami Relief Organizations.

Thank you and bid high for this worthy cause!

Michael
WineCommune

Today we are introducing this announcement board to help keep you up to date on the latest happenings and features at WineCommune.com. Whenever we release a new feature or have some important news to relay, we will post it here. So check back often!

Michael
WineCommune